Mountebank
by murshmallow
Summary: AC 205- 25 year old Heero Yuy has been living comfortably in space for the past 5 years as an engineer named Dr. Odin Lowe Jr., heading the life support effort for the Mars Terraformation Project. When he is arrested for the disappearance of Foreign Minister Relena Darlian, he must prove his innocence, while tracking down the person responsible, from behind bars. NEW *M* RATING
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey there! In the middle of writing my other story, Dossier, I decided I should post this one, Mountebank (meaning: imposter). I started this one a while ago, and its definitely more of an expanded universe type of story, whereas Dossier is more about internal struggle. The two are not related in anyway! I'm really digging this one, but its so huge that I'm scared I will lose steam for it! Trying hard to stay focused here.

\- murshmallow

 **MOUNTEBANK:** Ch. 1

The calmest, most serene moment one can experience, is the feeling of floating in space.

At that moment, the galaxy was quiet and still as the sunlight spread its warmth through the dead expanse.

Watching the sunlight reflect off the far off Earth's moon was as about as relaxing as making my morning cup of coffee.

 ***THUNK***

"Oy Lowe! Do you have a spare drill? I left mine on board."

I waved the floating space junk away from my helmet and fished out my drill for the engineer or Sapper also working on the exterior hatch of the nameless supply ship bound for the Mars settlement.

Lunch on the Planetary Association of Terraformation Headquarters, or the PATH Finder, was the same as it was everyday. Choice of soup, bread, and sandwich. For dinner we had a rehydrated MRE and sometimes if I needed the sugar, crispy dehydrated ice cream. Although I had survived on limited food rations my entire life, I'd be lying if my entrance to the new Interplanetary Pioneer Corps. was not based solely on the three square meals a day I was promised.

My partner in the engineering squad could care less that we were receiving every vitamin necessary and then some, he was sore about the lack of variety.

"What I wouldn't give for a beer." Ahmed, my partner, sighed over chilling soup and stale rye bread.

"Ahmed doesn't even drink and he wants a beer. We should really figure out a way to get some in on the next supply run." A young female engineer quipped from the far end of the table.

I could care less. I didn't need alcohol to unwind, and I didn't eat for pleasure either. I was content.

"Odin, what's your favorite beer. Oh wait, you're from Japan aren't you? Do they have beer in Japan?" The young woman asked.

"Japan has everything, but I was raised on the colonies anyway. I don't drink."

"Odin you make a better man of faith than I do, I've never even craved alcohol until I joined the Pioneers." Ahmed laughed, I suppose you could call it genuine.

Our crew was incredibly small: besides myself, Ahmed, and the girl, there were maybe eleven others. I couldn't give an exact number, only half of us were out of cryostasis this month.

When the Mars Terraformation Project began in A.C. 196, hundreds signed up to join the ranks of the Pioneers. They had been swayed by the immortal words of their pseudo-queen: "The potential for humanity is endless."

Over time, with little improvement on the terraformation end, the ranks dwindled. Several minor catastrophes over the past ten years contributed to the thinning numbers. Preventer formed a lasting partnership with the Pioneers in A.C. 200, and I found my semi-permanent home, having fully transferred with the partnership to the engineering division.

"You were with Preventer at one point, weren't you Lowe? Did you see any action? Where were you stationed?" The girl piped in.

Questions like this were common place. I usually offered a quiet smirk. An air of mystery helped keep others guessing, and essentially out of my way.

The one pleasure of which I indulged in was sitting right in front of me. A steaming, hot cup, of black coffee. The one human comfort PATHFinder received every three months from the Earth's supply delivery. No matter what requests were formally made (and denied) for indulgences, cases of gourmet coffee grounds were the only real treat provided.

I usually took an opportunity to enjoy my cup when crew mates decided it was time they would ask me their questions.

"Why in the hell does your favorite, expensive, coffee brand get delivered every single supply delivery, but my request for simple bacon goes denied." Came the ice cold voice behind me.

I blew a bit on the piping hot liquid and brought it to my lips. I could hear Ahmed and the female engineer stand in their seats at the ready.

"Please be seated. No need to stand for us." A woman's voice smiled from the cafeteria doorway.

"Agent Fire, Agent Wind. Are you here to conduct inspection a day early?" I smiled from my seat. I hadn't yet turned around to greet them.

"Sapper Lowe. We're just here to grab a cup of that fine coffee you received in this month's supply delivery." I turned around to face them and stood.

"Its actually Doctor Lowe now. I graduated already." I revealed while shaking hands with my old friend Agent Fire, otherwise known as Lucrezia Noin. Ahmed and the others were generally uneasy with my familiarity with Preventers, but they always chalked it up to the known fact that I had briefly served in their intelligence department.

"Doctor Odin Lowe. Point me to the brew if you please." A cold voice reminiscent of one Zechs Merquise smiled through gritted teeth. I heard Noin chuckle.

"I'm not sure how this stuff gets mixed in with the PATHFinder rations every month." Noin sipped, enjoying hers with sugar and cream. "I know it's gotta be her doing it, but with her working in Africa this past year I have no clue how she's getting this through in Brussels."

"I'm not sure myself, but I'm not complaining. I never asked Relena to send me anything special."

"Hn." Zechs grunted.

Noin's eyes darted about the cafeteria. When she was satisfied that we were alone, she spoke, albeit with hushed tones.

"When was the last time you saw Relena, Heero?"

I set my cup down. I was used to this question every time they made their monthly "inspection" visit. The two had lived the past two years in space full time, making their rounds to the deeper space outposts each month.

"She's not here if that's what you're asking." They'd found her once or twice on the ship, making unannounced visits to PATHFinder for surprise inspections. She wanted to make sure we had an acceptable quality of life, since we were dedicating our years to ensuring the life support for the terraformation effort. But mainly, she was here to make sure I stuck around. I had assured her I was happy, and that there was no where left for me to run. I was also safe. Our last discussion ended her desire for surprise inspections.

"You heard that she was living in an war-orphan home in Africa. You've seen the news coverage. I know it takes nearly two months for televised transmissions to reach you here, but have you noticed anything odd about the latest transmission?"

Noin's words didn't seem to sit well. It gave me a sour taste in my mouth. I had given up Relena as my charge years before, but that didn't change the way I felt about her safety.  
I tried to rack my brain, remembering the last time I saw Relena on the delayed television stream in my quarters.

She had been giving a news conference, but the way she spoke had been a little odd. She took quite a few pauses in between lines, and there were times I had thought, perhaps it was from the delay in transmission, that her audio was lagging.

The recorded view had been so far away too, taken from somewhere deep in the crowd. I remembered being annoyed that I couldn't see her face. I hadn't seen her in months, and I had been looking forward to watching her latest speech.

"So you're saying, that wasn't her up there?" I grumbled, annoyance now getting the better of me. How could I be that stupid? How could I miss this?

"It hasn't been her in nearly a year Heero. Are you saying you haven't noticed at all?"

Noins words sent a spasm through me. What did she mean it hadn't been her? Where was Relena?

I finished off my coffee. Relena's gift to me, as close as she could get to a human touch.

I set the cup down calmly, raking my hand through my hair out of frustration. I didn't need anyone on this ship to see me this anxious, but I was having trouble keeping it together. I'd been gone for five Earth-years. I'd left her in someone else's hands for half a decade. I hadn't seen her in over a year. I hadn't seen her.

"She arrived in Africa in January of 205, she stopped sending me security reports in March. Her security detail took over sending them in May. April is unaccounted for." Noin whispered.

Who was her security detail? Une had tapped me to go, but I declined. I was nearing the end of my doctorate, and I was focused on my dissertation on terraformation mechanics. Besides, I was trying to give Relena some space. Une eventually let me choose her final security detail for Africa.

But who was it? I knew them, I swore I did.

"Trowa."

Noin raised an eyebrow at me.

"Trowa Barton...or Triton Bloom now. I had assigned him as head of Relena's security detail in place of myself."

"Hmm.. well that is indeed interesting." Noin mused. She stole a glance at Zechs, who had been staring out into space from the cafeteria's large observation window.

Zechs turned and made his way over to our long table.

"Interesting indeed." Zechs narrowed his ice blue eyes at me. The look sent shivers down my spine, it had been years since I received a look like this from him. Looks like this were truly reminiscent of the Lightning Count.

"What are you getting at...Wind?" I growled, trying to remind him, we had all tried to distance ourselves from the past in this time of peace. I was Dr. Odin Lowe Jr., the aerospace engineer, he was Agent Wind, officer of Internal Affairs (glorified human resources) for Preventer.

Internal affairs...an investigation?

"You really think we've been springing surprise inspections on a crew of eleven people for the past year because we think you're sneaking kick-back coffee onto your vessel...Doctor?" Zechs muttered through gritted teeth.

Noin sat silent, studying me through steepled fingers.

"You think...you can't possibly think that I..."

"Heero, please. Just come quietly..." She finally spoke.


	2. Chapter 2

**MOUNTEBANK:** Ch. 2

Out of respect for Noin, I chose not to cause a scene.

They had me locked in a conference room on our vessel, no windows, only one door. Most of this ship was vacant, so it was easy to find the privacy they required.

They had also chosen not to cuff me, leading me to the room without incident.

I had reason to believe an interrogation would be coming next.

"Yuy. Lowe. Whatever." Zechs placed a file on the table. Relena's picture slid out.

"Heero, please take a look at the photo." Noin urged, taking a seat in front of me.

I took the photo in my hands, bringing it close to get a good look. From first glance, it appeared to be a picture of Relena, walking on a tarmac (in what I supposed was Africa) with a group of body guards. She was wearing sunglasses and a tight black peacoat. Her legs were bare, save for a pair of black thigh-high boots. I felt my nose twitch. That wasn't something she would normally wear, although I did like the image.

"Since when does she dress like this?" I grumbled, earning a snort from Zechs.

"Please take a look at the second photo." Noin whispered, handing me another image from the file.

It seemed to be taken seconds after the first, but it was zoomed in further. Relena could be seen discussing with her body guards as they approached a set of air-stairs. She had her head turned toward them, hands removing her sunglasses, providing a clear view of her face and eyes.

But there was something...odd.

Those were NOT her eyes.

They were much lighter, almost dead cold.

"That is not Relena." I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"Intel says last known appearance of the authentic Vice Foreign Minister Darlian was on this vessel, one week before her departure to Africa last year." Noin presented.

"So what are you saying." I sat back in my chair, arms crossed. They hadn't cuffed me, not yet, so I wasn't sure if I was being briefed, or arrested.

Zechs pulled out another file from a case beneath the desk. He pulled out several sheets of paper and handed them to me.

Each one was a printed screenshot of a different e-mail.

Each e-mail had been a variety of psychotic ramblings about a new world order, White Fang, Oz, and Relena.

Each e-mail had been sent from my address.

The last e-mail had a photo attached to it.

It was of a rail-thin woman, bruised, dressed in rags and barefoot. A burlap bag was over her head. The room she was in was dark, and dirty, without windows. The floor was made of white tile, smudged with mud and rusty stains. The walls seemed to be made of earth, or ancient concrete. It was dirty. The woman's hands seemed to be tied behind her back, and the way she posed herself emitted one feeling: fear.

I handed the papers back to Zechs after making sure I fully committed the image to memory. I wasn't sure that they would give me another chance to study the photo.

"I didn't send those e-mails. They're all dated months and weeks ago. My inbox and outbox are clean."

"We know." Zechs nodded in agreement.  
"You realize how this is starting to look Heero?" Noin looked up, eyes rimmed red.

My throat burned. The whole thing seemed too surreal. Here I was, in an interrogation room with her own brother, when Relena was out there. Relena was hurt. Relena was scared.

"No Noin. How is this starting to look?" I growled. Noin retreated in her seat, head resting on her hand, daring not to look at me.

That had to be Relena in that photo.

"How did those e-mails arrive? Were they sent to your inbox? Une's? Did you get an IP trace on them?" We had to act as quickly as possible...if Relena had been missing as long as they said she was...time was running out, if it hadn't already.

"They are your personal tablet's IP. We even traced it back to your actual device. The ISP was able to provide a serial number. Its the tablet in your quarters." Zechs practically growled.

"A tablet that is left alone in my room nearly twenty hours a day. I never use that thing." I couldn't believe this.  
How was someone able to do this? How did they even get into my personal e-mail? I changed that password at least twice a week. I'd have to destroy the blasted device altogether.  
I held onto it to make her happy...Relena had given it to me for as a gift a few years back.

Relena.

"We need to act now. Why are we sitting in here."

"Heero please..." Noin pleaded with me.

"Yuy." Zechs pushed a warrant across the table.

I snatched up the form, and gave it a quick read. Here it was...the warrant for my arrest. Based on "probable cause" found in discovery of implicating e-mail transmission. For such a high profile victim, they could and would have to arrest anyone remotely suspicious. I wouldn't have it any other way. But still...

But why me.

"This is bullshit." I slammed the form down. Sure I had been out of Preventer for a few years, but I hadn't thought I had become rusty. I should have seen this coming, I should have known.

I should have been there with her.

I should have been there.

"Heero Yuy, alias Doctor Odin Lowe Jr, officer first class PATHFinder Sapper division..." Zechs rose as he spoke.

No.

"Under the power vested in myself and my partner by the agency of Preventer Internal Affairs..." He pulled a set of handcuffs from his back pocket, I could see Noin looking away. She didn't believe this either. Noin, please. I wanted to scream. Noin help me. Zechs help me. They couldn't really be doing this. I should be out there. I should be looking for her.

"...you are under arrest for suspicion of the disappearance of Foreign Minister Relena Darlian, a crime of high treason against the Earth Sphere Unified Nation. You have a right to representation, and will be subject to military tribunal by the prosecution Commander Une and Deputy General Chang."

The handcuffs secured around my wrists in a cold metallic 'click', a sound that seemed to echo. I was sure the rest of my crew had heard it. The rest of space even.

I hung my head over my lap, staying rooted to my chair.

This couldn't be happening.

Relena. Please, stay _alive_.

-

the drama begins :D

thank you so much for your kind feedback!

~murshmallow


	3. Chapter 3

**MOUNTEBANK** Ch. 3

"Reports suggest Preventer has arrested a person of interest in the disappearance of Foreign Minister, and former Queen of the World, Miss Relena Darlian."

I heard a click as Noin switched radio stations on the dash.

"Investigators have arrested the former lover of Queen Peacecraf-"

Another click.

"Sources say he is involved with the ESUN government on some level-"

"Turn that shit off Noin." Zechs growled from the driver's seat of a Preventer security SUV.

I shifted in my cuffs, trying to make room for my wrists to breathe. Sunlight was penetrating through the heavy window tint, and I could feel the sweat prickling behind my ears. After three weeks of confined space travel back to Earth, I wanted to scream in the back seat.

Noin turned the radio off for good.

"They don't seem to know who you are yet, Heero. We have that for now."

I ignored Noin and instead chose to stew in my anger.

I hadn't said a word since they read me my rights onboard my previous ship. I was not about to implicate myself. Three weeks of silence made no difference to me. I had spent years in it.

"We should have timed this better. Its broad daylight. As soon as they catch wind they are going to be all over us." Zechs said through gritted teeth.

He was right. If anyone caught on to who they were, and who they had in the back seat, we'd have cameras on us in seconds.

The entire world would see my face. The entire solar system would. They'd know me as the man who knows something about their queen's disappearance. They'd make their own assumptions as to who I was. They would spread their rumors. They would talk.

They would talk.

But would they see me? Would she see me? Were they letting her watch as someone else took responsibility for their crime? Would that help her at all? Would they kill her then, knowing that I would pay for it?

No, they wouldn't. If she was found after being killed, the autopsy would prove I was in custody already. If she was alive still, they'd keep her that way. They were smart enough to put an impostor in her place, they were smart enough to keep her alive. They needed her.

Everyone _needed_ her.

Zechs slowed to a stop at a gridlocked traffic light. I could see the government capitol building in the distance. Security had cordoned off the street ahead, and were directing traffic to the left at an upcoming intersection. I knew already that we would be turning right, to loop around the massive building and enter through the private underground tunnel.

There was a mass of people gathered near the blockade. So many suits you couldn't see the concrete beneath them. The media, no doubt. The media and their speculations.

I leaned my head against the black pane of glass, hoping to cool my forehead. My mind was swimming in a sea of electric rolling thoughts. I probably needed to sleep, but I knew that I would not have this much peace once I was escorted inside. If these fools truly believed I was the one responsible, I'd be subject to hours of interrogation. As they should...I would do the same. I have done the same when I was at Preventer.

But again, I was not supposed to be here. I did not do this to her. Someone else did...was still doing it. Holding her captive. Hurting her.

As much as the thought terrified me, I needed these thoughts to snowball, I needed somewhere to start.

I pressed against the glass. In my teens, I would not have thought twice about breaking this window with my forehead. But there was something about this window, or I was too exhausted. But there was something about it, something that told me I would knock myself out if I tried.

I let my breath fog the window. I inhaled deeply and let out another exhale, feeling the tightening that had taken hold of my chest start to lessen, like working leather.

Zechs slowed again, and flashed his badge at the armed officer waiting at the blockade. We slowly began to make our right turn. Most likely the only vehicle to do so all day.

As soon as they saw it happen, they pounced.

"Here we go." Noin muttered.

Here they came with their microphones and cameras. Their cell phones and notepads. It seemed as if the entire Earth's Sphere's media had sent someone, anyone, to cover my arrest.

I had to do something. I needed to think she could see me, wherever she was.

I leaned against the glass again. Tempered and bulletproof, of course. The glass was thicker than normal Preventer security vehicles. There was something about this window, something familiar.

And then I realized, this was her vehicle. I had at one point driven this SUV every day. No other car had this glass. Glass as black as pitch, so that no one could see her resting indecently in the back seat after we stole a few moments together in the parking garage. So that no one could shoot her while we enjoyed those stolen moments together.

I hadn't installed that glass just for when we had sex in the car...sure it served a much more practical purpose. But really, that was when my guard was really down. When she pulled that vulnerability out of me with her assertive touch.

I should have known they'd throw me in here. They were trying to tell me something.

I couldn't break this glass with my own forehead.

I couldn't escape.

I couldn't do this _alone_.

I slipped my cuffed hands onto the arm rest, miraculously not eliciting any noise from the metallic cuffs.

I pressed down on the window control with my fingers, gasping when I felt that they weren't locked.

"What are you- Heero!" Noin growled from the front.

I let the window roll, and felt the blinding heat of what seemed like a thousand flash bulbs. I heard their questions muddle into a joint chant of "EVIL" and "WHERE IS SHE".

I glared at the mass of people, feet away from my face, so close and yet far enough that they couldn't grab me. One of them could have shot me if they wanted to. But they wanted me alive. They wanted answers. They wanted me to suffer.

I let them all get a good look.

Zechs punched the gas, and was treated to an empty roadway to the Preventer's tunnel. As soon as he was in, the light faded, and I let my shoulder and the side of head rest against the open window frame of the vehicle. The smell of runaway exhaust filled the air trapped within the tunnel, and I let my senses settle into a brief moment of wartime nostalgia.

"Yuy you fucking idiot." I heard coming from Zechs.

I was a fucking idiot, I know. But maybe, Relena knew it too now. Maybe they let her watch.

I let the thought comfort me, and felt my body fighting sleep. The halogen lights of Preventer's underground receiving area were yards away.

For these last moments of peace, I let myself drift.

 **a/n:** I've been a bit awol! I'm sorry :3 Life got busier than usual for a moment! Thank you so much for your continued support, I hope you guys like building tension as much as I do! Thanks for reading!

~murshmallow


	4. Chapter 4

**WEEK ONE.**

 _Tick._

My exhale rattled in my nostrils, and on my next inhale, I stood up straighter.

 _Tick._

My spine felt rigid, like a sturdy birch. I could feel a pinch near my lower back, but I allowed myself to breathe through the pain. Another exhale, and I could feel the swelling decrease.

 _Tick._

I was ashamed to think that I had been that spoiled over the past few years that I would grow to find a prison cot this uncomfortable.

 _Tick._

Perhaps it was the silence that was uncomfortable. The silence of a private prison bunk in an underground facility.

 _Tick._

I emptied the contents of my lungs in one drawn out exhale, trying not to squirm and ruin my posture. My hands hung over my knees at the wrists, forefingers meeting thumbs in as masculine of a mudra as I could muster.

 _Tick._

The sound of the clock grew ever louder in the white room. After the first few days, I found myself closing my eyes for hours on end just to see a color other than white.

I hadn't bothered to track my meditation this morning, as I felt the day was already dragging. One more reminder of how slowly the time was passing would be detrimental.

My stomach gurgled. If it weren't the years with a proper bed that had spoiled me, then it was the meals.

Apparently, Preventer's concept of three squares a day had not carried over to their prisoners, an ethics violation Relena would have loved to hear about.

 _Relena._

I saw a darkened basement, with a bloodied woman, and men standing over her hungrily.

 _Tick._

A man would be wiping her blood on her holy, white nightgown. Utter sacrilege.

 _Relena._

Every morning, I made myself remember that last photograph I had seen of her. The one of her restrained, in that dark basement. At first, it was so I could remember every detail in earnest. Focusing every day allowed me to get to know the image. However, by the fifth morning, my mind was adding to it.

Today the men would hurt her. Today they would make her bleed.

 _Tick._

The heavy fireproof door unlatched, and scraped across the white tile.

"Yuy, you're wanted upstairs." A nameless agent said, dressed in a crisp black uniform, with a black cap. The black stood out against the white environment. It hurt to look at.

Without a word, I lifted my wrists to him, not rising from my crosslegged seat on the tile floor. The agent approached me the way you might approach a rabid dog in the street, reluctantly, with one hand on his holstered taser.

He placed the over-hand cuffs, which resembled translucent plastic cups, easily over my hands. I stopped flinching by the second day. With a plastic pop, they were in place, and chained to the matching, indestructible plastic cuffs around my ankles.

My stomach gurgled again, eliciting a surprised look from my babysitter. I glared at him and he turned back around, motioning for me to follow.

As I shuffled over the threshold, I saw a new female recruit positioned to follow me, automatic weapon at the ready. I snarled my lip in protest. And yet I had to admire their attachment to protocol. My protocol, unchanged still from my time as director of security. The overkill hand/ankle cuff combo had been designed and fabricated by yours truly, not too long before I transferred to the PATH Finder. Where my engineering skills were used to promote life, not con

The underground prison facility was reserved for dangerous criminals and terrorists, so naturally it had gone unused for sometime. The walls and tiled floor were the same immaculate, blinding shade of white. It seemed to me more like a hospital than a prison.

Nearly every prison bunk door was open save for mine, meaning there were no inmates assigned to them. Was I really the only person in Preventer custody? The thought made me sick. It meant there was no one worthy of 'storing' down here. It also meant they had no other suspects in custody for Relena's disappearance. I was the only one.

Today was my seventh day in custody. The end of week one. I may not have kept track of the time, but I absolutely tracked my days. Seven days without any word regarding this investigation. Zechs and Noin had deposited me in the bunk an entire week ago. Seven days without hearing anything else. Without knowing whether or not Relena was still alive.

The two agents led me to an equally sterile elevator, and once inside, the female agent lifter her large gun at my chin. The cool barrel felt nostalgic, I had held a pistol there once or twice before. She pushed the barrel, forcing me to lift my face towards a camera.

They were watching.

I smiled at the thought, and at the camera.

The elevator slowed until we heard a ping, signaling our arrival at our destination. The steel doors gave way to a familiar floor: the Commander's office. The entire room and floor had been her office for years, the only thing that had changed were the addition of armed guards flanking either side of the elevator. Une didn't need much else.

"Little Prince." I cringed at the use of my full codename, the same way a boy may cringe at a mother's use of an embarrassing middle name. Or a boy that had a mother. Would I cringe if I heard my middle name? Did I ever have one?

"Take a seat." Une continued, gesturing to a lone chair in front of her desk, while she stayed seated.

Her hazel eyes were like stone, giving nothing away- typical Une. I hadn't seen her in years, but she hadn't aged much. The only thing I noticed were thick, black-rimmed glasses that had replaced her old round ones from the war days. Her hair hung casually against her shoulders, protected by the classic olive green original issue Preventer jacket. Preventer had killed the design right before I left, opting for a newer, sleeker black uniform. Une held onto the original look. It suited her.

"So, how have things been up on PATH Finder?" She asked, voice laced with sarcasm. The question was surprising, but not as surprising as my answer.

"Same old shit." My voice was husky and wretched from lack of use. The fact that I had played into her lame attempt at banter was a shock. I was truly angry. I had no time for games.

She smirked. Her sleek glass-like phone buzzed, and she took the moment needed to check a text message. She pushed her phone to the side, pulling a folder out of her desk drawer. Another folder? She slid it casually across the lacquered wood, opening it to a single sheet of paper.

The paper was a garbled mixture of letters and words.

 _9 V 15 v 13 Z_

 _18 h_

 _26 O 18 e 22._

Coordinates? Times? An equation?

"What are you showing me Commander?" I asked, throwing in the honorific for good measure.

"Why don't you tell me, Agent Prince." Again, using my codename. I hadn't been an agent in years. Was this a moronic attempt at another interrogation? I could do nothing but glare.

Or was Une actually asking me for help? To help her solve a code? Did this have anything to do with Relena?

 _Relena_... An image of a man holding her by her hair, blood smeared across her face emerged in my head. Damn this new anxiety.

"You have until fifteen hundred to tell me what this says, Yuy." She gave a hasty nod to my escorts, who had been hanging back by the elevator with the other armed guards. Handing the folder to the male agent, she took the chance to grab me by the collar with her free hand.

 _"Fifteen hundred. I'll need your answer by then."_ She hissed.

The female guard gave me a shove with the barrel of her automatic weapon, and I turned away, following the male agent holding the folder.

My answer?

On the walk back to my cell, I could imagine the numbers and letters together on the page, moving, swapping positions. The encryption was not anything functional. It was not a password, not an ignition code. It was a pattern, it was a language. It was a sentence.

They locked me in the cell with the folder and a lukewarm bowl of soup. No spoon, no pen or pencil. I was to drink directly from the bowl, as usual, and solve the riddle in my head. As usual. I chuckled to myself. I hadn't had to rely on my upbringing in a very long time. I needed to reactivate the portions of my brain I had relied on for tactical decision making.

I chanced a look up at the clock. It was barely past twelve. I had three hours to solve the encrypted message .

Having been relieved from my cuffs, I lifted the hot bowl in my hands, forcing down a lazy gulp of the languid broth. The taste was salty and barely palatable, and the lack of warmth from the liquid and heat from the bowl led me to believed that the lunch was a microwaved portion of leftovers from the night before. Or perhaps, it was mere dirty dishwater with clumps of old vegetables from the drain catch.

I forced it down, trying to remember better days of fresh MRE's and dehydrated ice cream to distract me from the bile that threatened its presence.

Shoving the now empty bowl under my bed, to join the several other empty ceramic bowls I had been hoarding, I finally turned my attention to the folder.

 _9 V 15 v 13 Z_

 _18 h_

 _26 O 18 e 22_

It had to be a message of some kind. Without a pen to jot down notes, I was feeling a bit out of sorts. It had to be code, but code for what? English? Cyrillic? One of the Asian languages? I took my chances on English, imagining the entire alphabet in front of me.

But there were numbers as well. At least twenty-six of them. _Twenty-six._ There we go...twenty-six letters in the English alphabet. Twenty-six could mean...'Z'? But what English words started with 'Z'? Twenty-six numerals to correspond with 26 letters?

I was growing more confident in the correlation between the English alphabet and arabic numbers. But...why would you include letters if you were going to codify them in numbers?

I exhaled gruffly, trying to calm myself. I tried to remember my meditative breathing. I brought my right hand to rake through my hair, feeling the buildup of a week without a shower or shave. I had to look like an animal in a cage to Une this morning. And how could she so nonchalantly discuss this code with me this morning? Assigning me this task? I thought I was a suspect. The double standard was screaming at me.

Double standard.

Double.

Two.

Two codes. There were _two_ languages. Was it two messages with two codes? Or one message with two codes?

Twenty-six letters in the alphabet. Twenty-six would be 'Z'...but if it were backwards it would be...'A'...

 **'R'** V **'L'** V **'N'** Z

 **'I'** H

 **'A'** O **'I'** E **'E'**

I feverishly counted the number of characters in the first line...six. The same amount as Relena's name. Could the first line be "Relena"?

If it were, maybe that could help me place the secondary code.

V, V, Z would have to be E, E, A. Again...whoever did this was childishly flipping the alphabet. Too easy.

 _'Relena'_

 _'Is'..._

I craned my neck up at the clock. Barely fifteen minutes had passed. Une must have known I would get this code quickly, so why was she expecting my answer by fifteen hundred...three o'clock in the afternoon?

 _"Relena...is...alive."_ I read the message out loud.

My eyes burned upon seeing the last word. Who dared play such games with me? Giving me a childish code to crack, while I was in prison for Relena's disappearance. They were mocking me, all of them.

What answer was Une looking for?

Relena is alive.

Surely they knew this already. Anyone could have figured this one out. A monkey could have.

Three knocks echoed at the metal door. It scrapped against the tile.

The female guard stood, gun at the ready. In one hand, she held a slip of paper.

Her eyes were obscured by the same black Preventer cap she wore earlier, which secured a bun made up of frizzy, chestnut brown hair.

She crumpled up the slip she was holding, and threw the makeshift ball at my feet. Cocking the gun once more, she vacated the entrance, and slammed the door shut.

Could I even call that odd? The day was getting more frustrating with every passing minute.

But not frustrating enough that I would expect angry prison guards to throw things at me. People loved Relena, and I'm sure they hated me, but not enough to go through the trouble of throwing garbage.

I kicked the ball over to myself, and delicately unraveled it.

 _1 Z_

 _1 12 G_

 _1 22 - T 12 W_

'Noventa...New Port...Norse-god' Aside from the last line, I was startled to see two recognizable words. 'Noventa'? As in Marshall Noventa? The man I had killed more than ten years prior...No, could it be...Sylvia Noventa? New Port...Newport City? In Cinq kingdom? Was that guard trying to hand me a message from Sylvia herself? Were they trying to point me to Cinq? It had to be a reference to Relena... And wait.

I had translated the note without realizing. It was in the same code as the message Une had given me earlier.

That would have to mean...that guard could have written that first message.

They knew something.

They knew Relena was _alive_.

-

 **a/n**

Thank you all for your reviews! I am so excited to see the support for this story. I'm really enjoying writing from this perspective, and trying to imagine the way Heero would think if he were a real person. I'd like to imagine him as a sort of a Socratic thinker, coming to conclusions and fast decisions by asking himself questions and building solutions with deductive reasoning. There is a lot going on in this story, and yes it is 1xR at its core, but its more about the plot. If you're in the mood from some fluff, but still love plot, please check out my other story Dossier.

Thanks again for your support,

~murshmallow


	5. Chapter 4 pt 2

**MOUNTEBANK**

 _Ch. 4 part 2_

I could have chewed my lip off waiting for Une.

I almost did.

The blood was still fresh in my mouth from where I bit my lips.

I glanced up at the clock, the arms sauntering the passage of time, taunting me where I sat.

I cursed my skill, the puzzle Une gave me had not taken long enough. I was left to my own devices for another half hour before she would come to retrieve my "answer"- whatever that meant.

What was the answer she was searching for?

I could obviously tell her that Relena was alive, but wouldn't she know that already? Une of all people could have been able to decipher that code easily.

But did she know about the second message? No, she couldn't. The second message was thrown at me in the form of trash by a nameless guard. A guard I never got the chance to get a good look at. The female guard from earlier, just shorter than I, slim in the black uniform with her cap pulled over her eyes.

Why didn't I take a better look?

It was killing me, why didn't I pay attention?

Who the hell was she? And what did she know about the second message?

I laid myself down onto the floor, spine straightening against the white linoleum tile. The cool surface eased the dull ache I still had in my lower back.

Blood in my mouth and pain in my back.

I had really gone soft, hadn't I?

The cool, blaring light of the halogen fixture above me threatened to destabilize my vision.

I closed my eyes, diminishing its effect. Neon afterglow spots flooded my subconscious, a consequence of the lighting.

I tried again to focus my breathing.

But there she was again. The image I had created out of anxiety. Relena, thin and bloody, this time without a pillowcase over her face. Her teeth were stained red from her own blood. She was laying on the cold ground, staring up at whoever was taking her black and white crime scene photo.

I cringed.

 _/Please/_ I pleaded with myself. _/Think of something...anything else/._

The persistence of the image of Relena covered in blood brought bile to my mouth. I could taste the cold chicken soup from earlier, laced with an unfamiliar chemical burn.

 _/Please...something else.../_ tears burned my eyes and I contemplated letting them free.

But then, the color of the light changed, and I no longer felt the cold burn of the halogen through my closed lids.

In my vision, her mouth, once parted in death, closed slowly, color returning to her lips.

Blood creeping from her nostrils returned in slow motion back into her skull.

Her eyes, once covered in a milky film, darkened to their healthy shade of ocean blue.

A ruddy flush blossomed on her skin, and her lips began to curl into a crooked smirk as her she took a breath.

Her full, now pink, lips parted to release a breathy sigh, intermingled with a shy bit of laughter. Her hair was falling behind her in satin waterfalls of gold, and as she giggled up at me, the dirt floor beneath her transformed into fluffy ivory bedsheets.

 _/Heero.../_ her voice whispered, not coming from her mouth, but somewhere else. Her teeth were bared to me in a genuine smile. Her head slowly turning from side to side as she laughed, eager for air.

 _/Heero.../_ her voice called again, louder this time. Her body convulsed beneath me in the innocent shakes of laughter, my hands searching her skin. Tickling her...

"Heero!" Une's voice came, shattering the dream like a wrecking ball.

My eyes wrenched open to the blaring light of the halogen once more.

Three o'clock already? I turned my head to view the time. Indeed, the thirty minutes had passed.

I raised my body up as slowly as I could. Commander Gold waited at my feet, burgundy leather heels in a proud yet defensive stance.

"Well Heero? Are you ready?" her voice stung like hot coffee.

I contemplated staying silent. But against my better judgement, I relented.

"Ready for what?" I grunted.

Une reached out her hand to me, as if to help me up.

"To get to work." she smiled.

 **-**

 **a/n**

a bit more plot for you guys for this Memorial Day weekend (for those of you in the US). I really felt that this read more like part two to the previous chapter, sorry if that confuses anyone!

Last Friday was my birthday, and I was really excited to see so many great chapters and new stories posted! I couldn't have asked for a better present ;) I'm planning more updates for this story this week. I'm a bit slower with updating this one, but that's because a crap ton of thought is going into this piece. I received some feedback on my use of the M rating, and unfortunately for some of you, I'm afraid I will definitely be keeping the M rating. In my opinion this story is definitely for a more mature audience, and that will become evident over time. There's a lot of plot in the works here! That being said, I am planning a 'T' rated story for those of you uncomfortable with an M rating. If you are interested in something a bit fluffier or lemony, I am still working on Dossier (M), the story where I let my mind run wild :) That story also has plot, but its heavy on the lovin'. Thank you for those of you who have continued to give this story a chance!

Thanks for the support!

~murshmallow


	6. Chapter 5

**MOUNTEBANK** CH. 6

The paper cup steamed in front of me, an open, dark mouth, howling in laughter.

The smell was familiar, and sorely missed after my week of living in captivity.

I had grown soft.

"What's the matter Alpha? That's your brand isn't it?" Une mocked from the other side of the interrogation table.

My palms rested on the icy metal surface, wrists stiff after being freed from the overhand cuffs.

My feet, barefoot, were rooted onto the white tile, another chilly surface. The cold feeling heightened my senses, and every nerve stood on standby.

The interrogation room was designed to be as bright as possible, to avoid any symbolism of shadow or secrecy. There was no where to hide, not here.

So why couldn't I read Une?

"Take a sip, Yuy."

I reached for the cup and brought it to my lips, the earthy aroma flooding my nostrils like a rush of blood to the head.

I chanced a small sip, savoring the initial burn of something hot and palatable. The heat of the liquid was almost too much for my teeth and gums, but I swallowed against their protest, enjoying the burning sensation as it trickled down my throat. I savored the pain. Twenty-one servings of lukewarm chicken soup will do that to you.

Whoever brewed the cup, had burnt the beans slightly. But it was still tolerable.

I placed the cup back onto the metal table, drumming the fingers of my free hand against the cold surface.

"So." She began, fingers laced in front of her.

I narrowed my eyes. For once in my life, I really didn't know what to expect. The years spent on PATHFinder must have dulled my agent sensibilities.

"I take it that you are aware that miss Peacecraft is in fact, alive." A hint of a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. I couldn't handle the anticipation, she needed to tell me what she knew before I lunged across the table.

Still committed to my own obstinacy, I kept my mouth shut.

"Yuy. You'd have to be a fool to think we would actually believe you did anything to her."

She let the smirk free, pushing her glasses up her nose with one hand. The air in the room went cold, and my breath froze in my chest. My palms, again flat against the metal table, grew slick with sweat. I could feel the hairs on my body prickle as I tried as hard as I could to restrain myself in my rage. I remained seated, stewing.

In the corner of the white room behind Une, I noticed a red blinking light. A camera.

"Camera's on Alpha. Audio's not. Its been...compromised." Une whispered, seamlessly reading my thoughts. "Don't speak. We have lip readers monitoring this...meeting."

Meeting? Or was it another interrogation...or was it supposed to _look_ like an interrogation?

I decided to take my chances, and hear her out.

"We have a mole in Preventer." She spoke, palms flat against the table. Her eyes focused in on the cup of coffee in front of me. She blinked to meet my gaze, and raised an eyebrow.

I drummed my fingers against the table.

"We are hoping to ease the perpetrator into making a mistake. If he thinks you're taking the heat for him, maybe he'll get comfortable."

When I was sure she was finished, I picked up the cup and brought it to my lips. I closed my eyes to savor the scent.

"What makes you think he won't kill her then?" I asked, lips hidden by the cup.

Une brought her hands together and cracked her knuckles.

"To be completely honest with you, we aren't sure. But we do know one thing."

I placed the cup down on the table. Une leaned over to her side and pulled a folder from her briefcase, never once turning her body. The camera would only be able to see her from behind.

She pulled out three e-mail print outs and placed them side by side in front of me.

"This bastard /loves/ attention." She growled.

My eyes almost caught fire when I saw the images, printed screenshots of e-mails, again from my inbox.

The first one read:

 _/HELLO. YOU ALL. -ALPHA/_

Attached to the e-mail was a grainy black and white photo. A gloved hand was wrapped tightly around a pale female neck. The image was erotic and almost artistic. The neck, vaguely familiar.

The second e-mail:

 _/_ _GIVE_ _.IT._ _TO ME._ _SEEMS._ _ZERO._ _WE._ _I._ _BOTH._ _WANT._ _/_

There was a second image. This time, of a pair of breasts, covered in bruises, smeared with dried blood in some places. Although the ribcage was straining against the torso's skin, the breasts were still full, nipples perked. The quality on this image was greatly enhanced. I could recognize them this time. This was her. Granted, I had not seen many breasts in my lifetime, but I had seen hers enough to still salivate at the sight of them. I hadn't seen her in so long, and this photo, although grotesque, was still artistic. Erotic. Meant to entice. I looked away in shame.

Une handed me the third sheet of paper.

 _/WILL._ _IT._ _HAVE BEEN._ _MINE._ _INSIDE._ _OF._ _HER. -_ _ALPHA._ _/_

This last image was less forgiving. He had her flipped onto her stomach this time, his hand visibly holding her by a rope tied to her ankles. She was nude, and skinny, but still beautiful. Dirty, covered in blood, whatever she was. She was still beautiful. Her hands were tied behind her at the wrists in a rope that was connected to her ankles. Hog-tied. He had tied her up like a pig. Her face was turned toward the camera, and although her hair was ragged and falling in front of her face, you could recognize her. This was her, Relena.

"Something odd about these messages Yuy." Une asked, tearing me away from the ungodly images. She took out another sheet of paper and slid it across the table.

 _/HELLO._ _YOU ALL._ _-ALPHA/_

 _/_ _GIVE_ _.IT._ _TO ME._ _SEEMS._ _ZERO._ _WE._ _I._ _BOTH._ _WANT._ _/_

 _/WILL._ _IT._ _HAVE BEEN._ _MINE._ _INSIDE._ _OF._ _HER. -_ _ALPHA._ _/_

I briefly felt my eyes widen when I remembered I needed to keep my poker face on for the camera.

"Hello Alpha. It seems we both will have been inside her." Une whispered, voice shaking. "He's calling you out Yuy. He knows who you are, and of your compromised personal relationship with Relena." She lifted her hand and pointed down onto the third image, distracting whoever was watching.

"You all, give to me Zero, I want it, mine of Alpha." She whispered the second message. "This one seems almost innocuous, as if to distract from the taunt he's throwing at you. But we can't dismiss it. It can be a motive."

The second one, although perhaps written to sound childish and stupid, could most definitely be a motive. They were calling out Preventer, accusing them of harboring a deadly weapon of mass destruction. They either wanted to expose Preventer, or get the weapon for themselves.

But Preventer destroyed the last backups of the Zero program years ago. And more troubling still, not many people knew about the system to begin with.

And using my former codename throughout the correspondence was also troubling. As if they were signing my name.

But they were most likely writing _to_ me.

 _It seems we both have been inside her._

I could feel my eyelid twitch. Whoever this was, knew that at one time I had a personal relationship with Relena.

The thought of her, hogtied, while whoever he was violated her, made me see red.

I cracked and flexed my knuckles.

"Yuy." Une whispered, stone in posture. The camera. It couldn't see me angered. I had to play along.

With every bit of coolness I had in my composure left, I leaned back in my seat, and crossed my arms.

Inside, I was burning.

"Keep it up Yuy." Une whispered. She drummed her fingers on the desk. "Do you know anyone that would be jealous of you and Relena?"

I cracked my neck, moving my head side to side, hoping she'd understand my answer as "no." It seemed to work.

"You may not know anyone, but there has to be someone out there...someone that knew about you two, and knows about Zero..." She lifted her hand to her forehead, and leaned forward in an act of fake desperation.

"We received these e-mails on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Today is Saturday. We are hoping he sends another one tomorrow. If not, this is our only evidence right now in support that Relena is alive, even with the coded messages we received yesterday. There is a fifty-fifty chance we may receive more evidence than usual, or he may go silent. As he does every Sunday."

My eyes widened. What did she mean, 'day of rest'?

Une lifted her head and pushed one of the printouts back towards me. I looked down at the sheet, Relena's haggered face staring back at me beneath matted hair.

"Preventer offices are closed on Sunday." Une whispered.

I uncrossed my arms. So, someone inside Preventer was...is responsible? Could that have something to do with the mole Une claimed we had? I had too many questions. I gritted my teeth, partially for the camera, partially to prevent myself from flipping the table.

So whoever we were dealing with, would either take a 'day off' from torturing Relena, or he'd take an entire day to continue hurting her. Like it was a leisurely exploit he had more time for on the weekends. Was he letting off steam from work on week nights? Was he...

Was he coming to work during the day?

Was he here right now?

"We have a mole, Yuy. We have plenty of false starts. Decoys. People willingly helping him. Plenty of people want to help him. Plenty of people have no problem hurting Relena." She muttered, the sound coming out like one which a cornered cat would make when threatened. An animal backed into a corner, clawing for some semblance of control.

I lifted the coffee cup to my lips once more, swallowing the last bit of cooled liquid.

"I need a list of everyone you think may be involved..." I mumbled through the cup. "I need a way to look them up." I needed access to their records. Any way possible...a tablet...a laptop...I needed a discreet way to hack into the government database on employees. If I had names, I could check out the deep web. Even without names, if I could track down the group responsible...if I could find message boards dedicated to hating her...then maybe...I'd have a chance.

I needed something, anything. I couldn't rely on Une's cryptic briefings. Not when I knew we were being watched.

There were no cameras in my cell, I knew this already. I had checked every inch. The only thing I had were armed guards.

Could one of them be the mole?

I gripped the table.

Of course one of them was. One of them had slipped me that coded note. Une didn't know about that note.

Should I even tell her?

Something was wrong.

Why would a mole want to give me information?

Because...this wasn't about Preventer.

This was about me. This was about Relena. This was about Zero.

This was about _me_.

I had been with Relena in the past, and we had managed to hide it from most people. We were broken up, but it wasn't hard to tell that Relena still pined for me. I had shaken her off like a tick when had she got too close. When I was younger, she had annoyed me. When she decided to move on, and see other men, that annoyed me more. But I never moved backwards. Relena didn't need me to succeed, she needed to focus. I couldn't allow her to be distracted by someone like me. She couldn't be in a serious relationship with me. I wouldn't let her.

It had been at least two years since we had broken things off...before she left for Africa, she came to see me one last time.

"Odin..." she teased, smiling from beneath my bed sheets in my quarters. She loved the way my new name sounded on her lips. The way her lips moved when she spoke the word, forming a sensual O as she languished in the sound- it always made my heart skip a beat. Hearing her speak to me at all, always annoyingly cheerful, made me forget that anything had changed between us. That we had ever ended our secret relationship.

So one last time, she let me have her.

In my memory, her skin was flush from our preceding actions, her face glowing with a sheen of post-sex sweat.

I sat on the edge of the bed, half kicking myself for ever having broken her heart, hating myself for using her. Space was lonely. I was always lonely.

She told me that she was taking a sabbatical from official ESUN work, and going to Africa to oversee operations of her charity. She was taking a break from official work, to go do other work. She was leaving the charge of intergalactic peace in the hands of her vice minister for a year. If she decided she would stay longer, she would resume her work as Foreign minister on a part time basis. She promised she would continue checking in with Preventer, with ESUN, and with me.

And then that first supply shipment came in, with my favorite brand of gourmet coffee. I took that as her "checking in".

But according to Une, she had already been gone.

She had to have been taken right after her trip to see me.

Right after we fucked.

I couldn't fight it, my head dropped as if my neck was a straining stem. I pulled at my hair with my hands, my head pounding. My eyes burned, I couldn't take this charade anymore.

Sensing that our debriefing was over, Une buzzed for the guards, and they came in to escort me.

Back to my uncomfortably white room, that laughed at me with its clean purity.

The sight was as torturous as seeing Relena hogtied on a dirty, earthen floor.

When they shut the door, I cried out.

I let the tears fall.

 ** _END OF WEEK ONE._ **

**a/n:** So a bit more angsty now! Its been forever since I gave you guys an update...work has been insane, and I just started my last six weeks of undergrad. I'm hoping to update Dossier tomorrow! Thank you so much for your patience...

and thank you for your continued support!

~murshmallow


	7. Chapter 6

**a/n:** Nothing as graphic this chapter, however there is a little bit of an allusion to masturbation, but its for the plot I promise. I apologize if last chapter was a bit more on the dark side. This story is a bit dark, but I will say this, there will be a happy ending. Because I'm a crazy person :) This is an M rated story for a reason. I have been asked about writing T rated pieces, and I suppose someday I may want to. Thanks for sticking with me on this story! I've had a lot less free time lately, and I've been missing writing, reading, everything! Thanks again for the support

~murshmallow

 **MOUNTEBANK** Ch. 6

 **WEEK TWO: MONDAY**

I shuffled across the hallway in my prison slippers, careful not to trip over my plastic, 3-D printed shackles.

My guards, the same two from the get-go, led me to the communal showers for my first shower since my arrival at Preventer's underground prison. We stopped in front of the heavy door, which had a large window and a space for me to push my arms through and be deshackled safely.

The white-tiled room was about twice as large as my cell, equipped with numerous chrome shower heads.

No privacy.

Were they going to watch me? Was this some kind of joke...didn't they know that I was in on it?

I felt the female guard lift my white shirt up over my back.

 _What the hell..._

The white fabric hung against the plastic shackles of my overhand cuffs. This was stupid...why not just have me undress myself in the showers?

An image of Relena tied up in a dirty basement came to mind. Slowly the rope I remembered from the photographs morphed into the white shirt, and it clung around her neck.

I suppose they considered me a suicide risk.

When the male guard in front of me pulled my pants down, I realized they couldn't know that I was in on it. Une probably told them that I was just any other inmate.

Except I was probably labeled as "dangerous" and "suicidal"...sounded familiar.

I looked down at the white fabric swimming around my ankles, feeling completely helpless. My skin was greeted to the cool, sterile air of the underground prison, and my body didn't adjust well.

The male guard undid my ankle shackles with a soft click, and had me step out of the fabric and cuffs and through the open door that waited.

I thrust my wrists through the open slot and felt the overhand cuffs give and get pulled, along with the shirt, over my stiff hands. The female guard deposited a neon orange soap into my palms, and keyed something into the door's control panel. With a hiss, the shower heads came to life.

"Five minutes, Lowe." The male guard spoke before locking up the cuff slot.

I cracked my knuckles and approached a shower heard near the far left corner of the room. Rubbing the soap into my hands, I stole a glance at the door, and noticed that the female guard was staring at me, smirk on her face.

I narrowed my eyes at her, what could she be thinking? Staring at me...I was an inmate...I immediately felt uncomfortable.

The soap slid across my skin like vinyl, and immediately I felt more human beneath the hot water. I didn't break eye contact with the guard, weary of her presence. She was the one who had slipped me the note regarding Noventa earlier... and Une had said that there was a mole.

I quickly moved my hands over my dick to clean myself, and then I noticed even more grotesque- she was smiling at me. Lips painted red, in a sinister grin.

I couldn't help but break eye contact, mentally kicking myself for doing so. If I had to keep an eye on any guards, it would have to be her. She had to be the mole. But the idea of her staring at me while I was showering, was, uncomfortable sure, but even more so... it was reminding me of Relena.

Relena loved to play voyeur.

As soon as her name entered my head, I felt myself twitch.

No way was I getting hard in a prison shower. Absolutely not.

I tried to think of anything that could distract my dick, but I was dehydrated, sleep deprived, and starting to imagine my guard undressing and joining me in the shower.

"Fuck..." I grunted, trying to remember the most disgusting thing I could think of. The photos Une showed me...but it did nothing. I stayed hard, and now I was imagining Relena being tortured.

In my mind, the guard took over her hat, and shook out her hair, red lips glistening in the humidity of the room. I brought my hand to myself, and although I fought, I stroked.

Relena was out there being tortured.

I could see it in my mind's eye. And my cock was begging me for release.

"No...no..." I whimpered, letting myself go and leaning against the tile with my palms. Tears stung my eyes, intermingling with the soap dripping from my hair.

Choking back a sob, my hardness strained for release. I chanced a look over to the door, hoping beyond hope my five minutes were already up.

No one was there.

I had never cried this much before in my life.

 **TUESDAY**

I hadn't heard from Une since our last meeting. I had hoped that she'd deliver on the tools I had asked her for during our 'debriefing' a few days prior, but after realizing that my guards were most likely not "in on it", my hopes were dashed.

I had spent the night before puking in my chrome toilet, having had thirty or-so bowls of chicken soup too many. For breakfast, they brought me steamed white rice. Seemed to fit the decor well enough. It stayed down. But the change of pace still alarmed me. Rice was so much cheaper than chicken broth, why couldn't I have had both all week?

 _Cool it Alpha._

I felt like I had just been on a cleanse of some type, non-consensual cleanse.

My hair was dry and brittle from whatever soap they had given me the day before, way longer than it should be. And god-forbid I was allowed to shave.

I probably looked like a twelve year old boy with a tiny man bun and a fake beard on. Some type of costume.

Everyday was feeling more and more like Halloween.

Alpha, you _diva_.

"Talking to yourself now, are you?" Une smirked from the doorway.

I blinked, staring up at her from the floor.

When had I laid down on the floor? When did I start thinking out loud? When did I ever use the word _diva?_

"Get up. Mandatory leisure time." She gestured for me to follow with a nod of her head. I obliged, only hesitating when I went to cross the threshold.

"Guard rotation starts today. No cuffs for now. You're on my watch." Une whispered, pulling back her black blazer to reveal a handgun resting in a holster. Reveal for whom? Couldn't be for me...it had to be for the cameras.

I was brought to a dark classroom, half the size of my cell. A dry erase board hung on the wall across from the entrance, and there were no windows. A camera was suspended above the door, pointed towards the white board. In the center sat a circular table, complete with a laptop and a few notebooks.

"And you thought I forgot about you Alpha. I know you love your...research. Supervised computer time. You have one hour, and you are to submit any notes to me. Nothing is to go back with you to your cell. You are only to utilize the preloaded sites and resources available to you. Is that clear?"

I swallowed, throat burning. This was my chance. I could finally do something.

"Lowe, I must remind you, we are on camera, and disobedience will not be tolerated. You move, I shoot." Une said as she took her seat near the door, directly below the camera. Out of sight from its view, she crossed her arms, and winked. This was what I thought it was.

I had work to do now.


	8. Chapter 7

**MOUNTEBANK** Ch. 7

I would be forever grateful to Une.

To my surprise, there were no preloaded sites. There were encryptions, yes, but I had been familiar with them. Yes, I had known them all inside and out. I had been...quite intimate with the security measures on the Preventer Intranet.

They were my measures after all.

I could have laughed out loud.

But that would put Une in a difficult position. A position to shoot.

I looked up from the laptop, chancing a quick gaze under the watchful eye of the camera.

Une was busy on her smartphone, reading. Most likely an e-mail. Possibly work related.

She was giving me some privacy.

I couldn't fight the twitch of my upper lip. I was full-on smirking. Here we go.

My fingers hovered over the keys of the keypad, command window at the ready. I was all set to access any number of locations remotely.

But then, I hesitated. Which location? Where was I going?

My chest tightened at the realization that I had no idea what I was looking for.

But the moment was fleeting, as the image of the crumpled note my suspicious guard threw at me bubbled to the surface.

Noventa...New Port...Norse God.

I would start with something broad. Newport City. Relena's last known address in Cinq. I knew it by heart. I pulled up as many Newport PCs connected to the internet as I could from the local gateway. Thousands, probably millions of numbers to scroll through. This would take the entire hour. I couldn't waste it. I pulled up a search prompt.

I typed in the IP address of the last computer I knew Relena still owned. And bingo...there it was.

I entered the PC easily, which was only slightly concerning. I had made sure the computer was ironclad years before, but the fact that she had not changed her password in such a long time really bugged me.

I was an idiot, getting hung up on things like a password when she could be dead.  
I was looking for a corpse for all I knew.

 _Stop it._ I felt her call to me. Her voice rang clearly through my subconscious.

A delusion most likely, but it pulled me back to the ground.

With a ping, the laptop pulled open a window to another desktop. Hers.

I was in.

There sat the most folders and unorganized files on a desktop I had ever seen on someone's home computer. The only organization implemented was that they were in alphabetical order.

I could barely make out her desktop background- an old photo she had taken of a teddy bear I had given her when we were kids. The bear was long gone now.

My chest tightened again and my lungs seemed to strain against my ribs. The back of my neck went cold.

Guilt. That's what this was.

 _It's okay...you didn't know_. The delusion called out to me again.

I moused through a few files, finding them to be innocuous photos of vacations and food recipes. The minutes were ticking by and I had started on Alcatraz Summer 201 and only gotten to Argentina Summer 202. I was twenty minutes in to searching her desktop, and I still had to take the time to erase my footprints from the network before logging off.

I sat back into the chair and rubbed my palms over my face, my bones cracking at the movement. I exhaled and stole another glance toward Une. She was watching me, eyes narrowing. She lifted her wrist and pointed to her watch. I nodded back. I had to try harder.

I looked down at the blank sheet of notebook paper I had pulled out to take notes. I was to submit anything I wrote down to Une. I was hoping she meant I was to submit decoy gibberish to satisfy whoever was watching. Because that was my plan.

I moved the pencil over the paper, about to write bullshit regarding micro self-contained ecosystem simulations, when I stopped. This could be the opportunity to communicate with whoever had been sending me messages.

I wrote slowly, in all caps, my letters shaky still.

NORSE GOD.

Perhaps whoever had sent me that note would recognize the phrase. I was relying on it.

I decided to exit Relena's computer next. It took five minutes to wipe my presence from the PC.

That left me with at least fifteen minutes for "research". I needed Preventer to think I was doing something that had nothing to do with Relena, of that I was sure.

I pulled up an internet search window and typed in the words "Norse god". I had to make the notes relevant somehow.

But I didn't see any online pages regarding mythology.

No.

I was treated to something far more mysterious.

My screen had turned red, and took me away from the traditional desktop view.

And then it began to fade into a grainy, black and white surveillance image. It was that of darkened classroom. In the center, a round table, with a laptop. The screen illuminated the laptop's user, a thinning, half-asian male with his too long hair tied in a top knot. The male had one hand over his keyboard and the other holding a pencil over a torn-out sheet of paper.

My neck snapped upward to look at the camera, and in the corner of my eye I could see that the subject of the surveillance feed mimicked the image.

They were watching me, and they wanted me to know it.

 **WEDNESDAY**

I hadn't slept the night before. The surreal surveillance image of myself in the darkened classroom haunted me.

How long had they been watching me? There were cameras in every room, including my cell.

Whoever was watching me had a direct view of everything I did.

Were they accessing the cameras remotely by hacking into them, or were they watching from the Preventer surveillance hub itself? Was it the mole I kept hearing about?

Whoever it was had outed one key piece of information to me. The note regarding Noventa, New Port, and Norse-god was highly relevant. Whoever had given me the note was also of some importance. That female guard with her black cap pulled too low, obscuring her face. I had to get a closer look, or find a way to communicate with her. I only hoped that when Une told me they were rotating guards, she only meant that it was a temporary change and that I'd have the same pair at my door in a few hours.

That female guard was either trying to warn me about Norse God, or had been trying to encourage communication between myself and the omnipotent threat.

Norse God.

I liked that. Was it what he wanted to be called?

How interesting that I had taken the name Odin only to be mocked by some invisible threat to my every day life.

 _My_ life.

That's what Relena had been. Had been. _Still_ was...we were only taking a break. We were only supposed to be taking a break for the year. She was off to find herself while doing volunteer work. We were no longer officially together after...what had happened.

It wasn't your fault. The delusion again reared its ugly head.

I felt tears sting at my eyes for the second time this week as I imagined the moment Relena decided we needed time apart. Months before she left for Africa.

I remembered that same teddy bear, smudged with blood and in the hospital room's waste basket. Discarded and abandoned.

"Are you sure you are okay with this?" I had asked her, searching her face for how she really felt. The white sheets of her hospital bed had been as ice cold as her response.

"I think you deserve a break from me." She whispered, politician's poker face in full force. I remember wanting to scream at her _like hell I need a break from you_ and take her into my arms. But I was raised to take orders. When she said jump, I'd ask _how high_. I didn't have the strength to question her. Not now.

Her cheeks were still moistened by the tears she had shed hours before, and I was not man enough to wipe them away. Not when my own tears still threatened to fall.

"Minister Darlian," the nurse's voice came from the doorway. "Do you want to see him one last time before the undertaker arrives?" She clutched a small bundle in her arms, referring to it as she spoke.

I turned to Relena again, searching her face for an answer. Her eyes were rimmed red, cold, and disinterested.

"Can I...can I hold him... _please_." I felt myself whisper. Relena nodded, never looking up from her hands.

The nurse brought him to me and gingerly placed him in my arms. Our son. Was our son. He was gone.

 _He was early. Too early. Too unhealthy. Too silent. Not enough time._

The doctors' voices had hissed through my memory as I shook myself out of it.

 _It wasn't your fault._

Like hell it wasn't.

I should have taken her into my arms, I should have let her see me cry. I should have married her and taken her home and tried to make another one.

As I blinked myself back into the present, face wet from tears, laying once again on my back on the floor. Had I fallen asleep only to dream of my living nightmare?

I needed her back. I needed her. Even if she was dead, I needed to bring her home with me. She didn't have to be with me if she didn't want to.

I tried to slip into my yogic breathing, the method my therapist had taught me while in space. The first year away from her had been the most brutal, but nothing like the here and now. I couldn't deal. I was ready to tear at the walls.

Just then I heard the door open. Were they going to let me shower again? Oh... _joy_. I remained flat on the floor, eyes tightly shut. It had to only be four in the morning. I didn't think I had lost count of the hours.

"Up and at 'em buddy." Came a familiar voice.

I sprung up instantly, searching the dark room for the source of the sound, and saw the female guard in front of me, dressed in all black, and alone.

Was I hallucinating again? It couldn't be.

The female guard wiped the lipstick from her mouth and pulled up the cap from her head, allowing a long chestnut brown braid to break free from its hold.

The guard shoved their hand into their uniform and freed two false breasts from their shirt, flinging them ceremoniously to the tiled floor.

"I'm bustin' your ass out of here." Growled Duo, God of Death.

-

 **a/n. AHHHH** what did you guys think of that tweeest at the end? I know this chapter was dark, but the night is darkest before the dawn y'all. You all deserved to know the heartbreaking reason that Relena and Heero were not officially together. We are going to be moving a bit faster from here on out, and I will be sure to finally start revealing more about what happened before Relena went missing. I also noticed that in chapter 4 I referred to Heero as "Agent Little Prince" and in chapter 6 I accidentally reverted to the more traditional "Alpha". Please forgive me for that oversight! He is definitely Little Prince in this story. He is the Alpha for sure in Dossier. ;) Which I just updated if you don't mind giving that a read!

Thank you for your patience and continued support!  
~murshmallow 


	9. Chapter 8

**MOUNTEBANK** Ch. 8

The halls were dark and full of shadows, and Duo blended in easily. Without the hall lights lit for the day, and no other inmates in the cells to speak of, the escape was almost too easy.

Duo had his glock at the ready, and we ran. The hallway seemed to stretch for miles before we reached its exit- the elevator. The panel next to the door was already undone, most likely Duo's doing from earlier.

"The cameras are only down for an hour, and thank god you were sleeping on the floor. That still image will be up by the time the CCTV goes back on line." Duo said as he pulled a pin from his hair and his smartphone from his pocket. He inserted the pin into the exposed panel and pushed. The elevator doors roared open, but the elevator itself was a floor below. We were greeted by the car's suspension cables.

Duo let loose a satisfied sigh and replaced the hair pin and smartphone on his person. He finally took a second to take a look at me.

"How are you feeling? Do you think you can climb?" He said, gesturing the cables.

I couldn't hesitate, this seemed to be our only out.

"I'm fine. I can handle it." My muscles were atrophied and my core was weak from the lack of real food, but I was hoping my adrenaline would kick in somewhere between the hallway and the threshold. I had to be able to climb.

 _You have to make it out._ Her voice, my hallucination, sang in my ears. I could feel my confidence building, even if it was due to my delusion.

I hopped over to the top of the elevator car and barely landed upright. The car swung from side to side, resulting in a loud scraping noise from the cart hitting against the vertical tunnel.

"There are overnight crews stationed on each floor but Une's. We gotta watch our footing." Duo whispered as he cleared the jump with ease. He nodded over to the main cable with his head. "You go first, I've got your six man." I cringed and reached for the braided cable, relishing its cool, thick weight. It was made of millions of metal fibers that poked and prodded at my skin. Maybe the pain of getting pricked by the wire would increase my blood flow and in turn, light a fire under my ass.

With whatever strength I had, I pulled myself up the cable. It wasn't exactly hard, I had done things like this many times before, but I was lacking the typical strength I was accustomed to. All those bowls of chicken soup had left my muscles to waste.

I rested my bare feet in between whatever loops in the wire I could find, allowing myself respite. When I found the support I needed, I let the relief wash over me. This was possible, I could do this.

I looked down and saw Duo, cap on and grip firm on the cable beneath me. He was ready to go. I had to be, too.

I flexed each hand and inhaled, pulling myself up.

We had been climbing for several minutes when I felt the cables engage.

Someone had activated the elevator.

I froze in my spot, bracing for any pain that could come with getting caught in the moving cable, but the pain didn't come. Instead, I felt my body lower.

The elevator was going down, and so were we.

"Hang tight man, we are going down a floor or two. We should be fine as long as we don't let go." Duo's voice came from below me.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tightened my grip on the cable.

 _You won't fall. I won't let you._

The elevator came to a rest two floors below where we started, which allowed us to come to the realization that we needed to climb even farther and even faster to avoid another setback.

 _You can do this_.

So we climbed. After a few minutes I started to realize we were headed towards the one floor with a rooftop patio. A lot of floors didn't have windows, and those that did were either fused shut to the building or equipped with alarms. Our only hope was to get a door open and get out onto the patio.

Soon, I could see where the roof came into view. The elevator shaft was ending. I couldn't help but smile, I was finally about to taste freedom. After nearly two weeks in solitary confinement, I was about to bust out.

But my stomach soon began to lurch, the lack of conditioning becoming ever apparent. I had been in space for years, I still didn't have my land legs yet. I had eaten nothing but chicken broth for my last two weeks of meals. I was soft and weak.

I slowed to a stop, gripping the fraying cables to my chest, savoring the pin pricks of stray metal fibers straining against the braided strands. Maybe if I stuck myself to the cable, I wouldn't fall.

"You alright bud?" Came the gravelly voice from below. Duo. That's right, he was here. I couldn't stop, not when he was below me. The thought of letting him down after we had come this far was starting to eat away at me, and I felt my palms grow slick with abhorred sweat.

I took in a deep breath, wheezing from exhaustion.

"Almost there, Heero. C'mon. You can do this." He strained.

 _You can do this._ Came the auditory hallucination once more. My guardian angel delusion.

I felt myself grunt out loud, and gripped the cable below me with my bare feet. The prickling fibers felt like shards of glass, but it was enough to wake me up. The sudden rush allowed me the strength to clean off my sweaty palms one at a time, struggling against the cable as I did so.

So I pulled again. And I got my traction back. And I pulled again. Here was the homestretch. I pulled again. I couldn't wait to huff the Brussels air. I could practically taste it.

Ping.

I stopped.

A faint, lighthearted sound that felt menacing at the same time.

Most likely another delusion. Popcorn was ready. Sure I could go for some popcorn.

Ping.

That time was louder.

"Heero...I think we need to climb faster..." Duo warned, voice shaking. I chanced a look down, and saw the elevator car coming up the shaft. It moved at a pace annoyingly slow enough to irk whoever was riding it, yet terrifyingly fast for those of us managing to climb the shaft's cable.

"Fuck." The word came out like a prayer. And the elevator wasn't stopping.

Throwing all caution to the wind, I somehow increased my pace. I hadn't been capable of something like this in years. Had I really saved the world? Had I nearly died as many times as I did, only to come out on top? Was I not, a Gundam pilot in the days of my youth?

Fuck yes. I pulled the cable, and I pulled my body with it.

"There he is!" Duo hollered, easily matching my pace.

As we reached the top of the shaft, the elevator slowed to a stop on our desired floor. I looked down at Duo, who was already ahead of me, and standing on top of the car.

He waved at me, and made a gesture like he was going to jump. It was idiotic, and risky. If we slipped out on top of whoever was riding the elevator, we would be granted access to the floor, and possibly a few weapons if they were armed. But we'd have to take them down. Did I really have that in me?

I didn't have time to act, as the elevator 'pinged' once again, and the doors slid open. I let go of the cable, and tried best I could to land on my feet. I miscalculated the fall, and felt my ankle roll. Stifling a hiss, I rolled over the top of the car and through the narrow opening on top of the two already unconscious, and unlucky, bystanders.

Duo stood nearby, spare glock in an extended hand.

"Thanks." I grumbled as I accepted the weapon, but it was hard to keep my composure. I couldn't help the smirk that pulled at the corner of my mouth.

"Save the PDA for later buddy. I still have to get you out of the building." He chuckled while clicking off his safety. I nodded in assent, the hard part was over in my opinion, but he still had a point. How were we going to get down the building? Rappel? Base jump? No one had a spare helicopter and the patio on this floor was definitely not large enough to land one anyway.

I recognized the floor immediately. It was the Foreign Affairs floor, one of the many places you could find Relena besides the Brussels Embassy nearby. When she wasn't colony hopping or working on the road, she was either here or making appearances at the Embassy. She didn't keep a permanent office.

 _I don't like to be stuck in one place too long._

It was strange, I had thought the voice would be gone by now. But the delusion was taking hold in the back of my brain, and I was now starting to welcome it...to look forward to it.

And the voice was right. Relena didn't like to stay in one place too long. I could only imagine how she was feeling now...or how she felt.

My confidence in her being found alive was at an all time low.

"I know what you're thinking, and I am NOT going to let you think it." Duo growled. "She's alive man. She is. We wouldn't let you down like that. We just...slipped up." I couldn't fight the defeated look I gave Duo. If I had been healthy and younger, I probably would have clocked him in the jaw. Slipped up? This was more than a slip up. This was a fall off a cliff. This was a free fall.

Slip up...the nerve.

I took a good look at Duo. Could I even trust him? He seemed like the same old Duo...the same pilot 02. His face hadn't changed, but although we were only nearing 26 years old, I could see the strands of silver peaking through from beneath his cap. We all had our share of early onset gray hairs, especially after all we had been through. I typically kept my hair short, and Duo was more inclined to let it free. Badges of honor, each strand.

It had been years since I had seen him last. He had gotten himself married during that time. Even more reason for gray hair.

I extended my free hand out to him, and he took it gratefully. Engaging him in as firm a handshake as I could, I greeted him as formally as I knew he would accept.

"I jerked off with this hand while you watched you son of a bitch."

Immediately he dropped the hand and yelped. I laughed for what felt like the first time in years and clapped him on the back. I wasn't going to let this go. He was lucky I was sleep deprived and starving, otherwise I would have called him out day one. My senses seemed to have been dulled by my time in space. He had pretended to be my female guard for nearly two weeks. He watched me shower. Suddenly, the creepy smile made sense.

"No guards this time of night?" I wondered aloud, taking the moment to release my clip and check my available ammo. The clip inserted back into the glock with a satisfying 'click'.

"You landed on 'em man." Duo nodded towards the unconscious bodies nearby. It was looking like I had gotten lucky, and they broke my fall.

Speaking of broken fall. My ankle was beginning to throb.

"I did something...' I started, trying to flex my bare foot. Immediately, white hot pain gripped me like a vice. I had definitely at least sprained it.

"Can you put weight on it?"

"I'm gonna have to right?"

I kneeled down to take a closer look, no bruising yet, but the ankle was swelling. I chanced a bit of weight, and although it hurt, it was bearable for the moment.

"Did you break it? Can't you set it yourself?" Duo laughed as he pulled out his smartphone.

"What am I, fifteen? I don't do that shit anymore...too old." I chanced a step, not ideal, but it would do.

I stifled the pain as we made our way down the hall, seeking out my auditory hallucination.

If I could just hear her voice, one time. I could make it.

But nothing came. I couldn't hear her anymore. I couldn't find her voice inside my head.

The patio doors were barely fifty feet away, and we looked like we were home free.

I tried to hobble faster, not bothering to contain the sounds spilling from my mouth as I ran. Curses and grunts aside, I say I was handling it like a champ.

When we finally made it to the end of the hall, we turned a corner to enter the patio area, only to encounter three armed guards, kneeling behind swat shields and ready to fire.

"Submit or we shoot!" An unnamed guard yelled. The city of Brussels gleamed behind them from beyond the patio doors. So close. So close to smelling that sharp, city air.

"What was that? I didn't hear ya..." Duo laughed, hands raised.

"DROP YOUR WEAPON!" One guard screamed, and only then I noticed that I was pointing my pilfered glock at them. With a scowl, I engaged the safety and let the gun drop to the ground. I was lucky they let me do that much. I raised my hands, and one approached me and secured my arms behind my back.

My ankle throbbed.

I should have been able to stick that landing earlier...if I had, I could have fought my way out of this without an issue. But I was past my prime, weak from space and malnourished. Every hand dealt was a shitty one. The guard cuffed me, in the traditional metal ones this time. My shoulders strained for relief, but my arms were locked. Unless I could somehow roll my way out of here, I was done.

But then I heard the tell-tale sound of a heavy body dropping.

I turned to see Duo with his own glock, and two unconscious guards on the floor.

"Good 'ol gun in the boxers trick. Gets 'em every time..." He spun the glock on a finger, as he has always done.

My guard, dumbfounded, turned me towards Duo and pulled his own gun to my head.

"Stay back!" He yelled, pressing the muzzle of his semiautomatic handgun against my temple. The gun was colder than ice, and the guard shook while he held it. He'd likely never had to use it before. And he seemed antsy. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my own heart beat, until all I could feel was my throbbing ankle and the calming rhythm of my own breathing.

I leaned my body forward, and pulled him up and over my back in one motion. I sunk forward to roll over him, knocking the wind out of his chest as I landed, and bringing my arms under and back over my legs in the process. I easily swiped his gun in the meantime, and pointed it under his chin. I disengaged the safety and rested my thumb against the hammer.

"Give him the keys to the cuffs." I leaned in by his ear. He whimpered beneath me, body tensing. "KEYS." I thundered.

"In my backpocket..." The young guard's voice shook. Duo took the cue and fished them out, not bothering to unlock me yet. I was fine.

"Get his wallet. And his car keys!" Duo asked, giddy.

"Back pocket?" I asked. The guard nodded. "Duo, just take them. Uncuff me dammit." Duo did as he was told. Guess I wasn't so fine.

He flipped the young guard's wallet open, studying the ID.

"Rufus Barn...Interesting name. 56 Rue de la Senne. That's not far from here! Wow you must live in the dorms. You must be a wee baby." My long-haired comrade giggled. He gingerly placed the wallet back into Rufus' back pocket. "I know where you live now. Thank you! We won't bother you unless you give us a good reason." He winked. The guard squirmed. Duo pulled the gun out from his waist band and pistol whipped him. Rufus was out.

"The ol' gun in the boxers trick."

"That's what that is?"

"It is now."

I sat up from the young man's chest and surveyed my handiwork with a heavy side of guilt. I hadn't acted this way in a very, very long time.

 _You did what you had to._ The voice! It was back. I could almost answer her. But if I did, I knew I would have lost it.

Duo was already breaking through the door panel by the time I shook myself from what could have been a post-traumatic episode.

The lock gave with a cheerful beep, and the doors slid open.

We approached the ledge of the patio, which overlooked the center of Brussels. The Embassy and the Grand Palace shone under the rising sun. Dawn was here, and gone was our cover of night.

Duo shifted around a nearby garbage can, and pulled out two small back packs. He put one on and fitted me with the other one. We stood staring for a moment over the ledge.

"Its been a while since I've done this..." He chuckled nervously. "But you've been free falling for years up on PATHfinder right? Limited gravity?"

I didn't have a chance to answer before he pushed me over.

The last time I base jumped with Duo, we were two suicidal maniac teens running from Oz. The only reason I made the jump then was because I heard Relena call out to me. If she hadn't given me the time of day, I would have let myself hit the ground at a hundred miles an hour.

All I had of her now was that very voice, calling out to me from the darkest recesses of my subconscious. Falling was an incredibly familiar feeling, having lived in space for the last two years. But I wasn't prepared for how time would stand still. I felt as though I was watching myself plummet to the ground.

I took a deep breath, and pulled my ripcord.

* * *

 **a/n** I felt like I gipped you guys with that short chapter and low-key cliffhanger before, and I just couldn't sit on this chapter for another second! I hope you guys feel as relieved as I did while writing it! Duo was so fun to write. I'm really considering writing some sort of buddy cop piece with Duo and Heero...I wrote a funny drug-themed one called Military Time a while ago. If you find stoners funny, check that one out!

Thanks for your continued support!

~murshmallow


	10. Chapter 9

**Previously, in MOUNTEBANK:**

All I had of her now was that very voice, calling out to me from the darkest recesses of my subconscious. Falling was an incredibly familiar feeling, having lived in space for the last two years. But I wasn't prepared for how time would stand still. I felt as though I was watching myself plummet to the ground.

I took a deep breath, and pulled my ripcord.

...

The drag of the air billowing below my chute pulled it up higher, jerking my body along with it. My heart hammered against my sternum, and my head swimmed. I could feel a prickling heat at the tips of my fingers and toes, and soon a cool sweat began to pool on the back of my neck.

Darkness threatened at the corners of my vision, and for a split second, I couldn't see anymore. The lack of sight triggered my other senses into action, and I grew so sensitive I could have sworn I could hear my heart beating.

It was thrumming like an erratic hammer.

A cool breeze caressed at my jaw, and I felt my body coast on its current. The haze soon settled and my vision returned.

The lights of Brussels doubled, tears prickling at my eyelashes causing them to halo.

I had to gather myself quickly, the black out had cost me precious reaction time. I hadn't taken stock of my landing zone.

And all that chicken soup was starting to haunt me.

I burped, and didn't let the breath escape, clenching my teeth as I began to bicycle my feet.

Instantly, I tasted salty poultry, and the heat came back to my fingers and toes.

Suddenly, I saw it coming- the landing. Just about three meters 'til impact with pavement in a narrow alleyway not even a block away from the HQ building. The building itself spanned at least ten Brussels city blocks.

The landing zone was so specific and perfect, it must have been planned.

I decided I'd go for it, and firmed my legs, ready for impact.

But then I remembered that I was barefoot, and the realization threw me off kilter.

I picked my feet up at the last minute and willed my weight forward, angling with my right shoulder.

Fuck. The pavement hurt. I hit the ground hard, tucking my head in and rolling over my side. And suddenly I was still. It was as if the Earth had abruptly stopped spinning, the blacktop gripping my shirt and essentially knocking the wind from my chest.

There was that taste again.

I coughed, and a week's worth of chicken soup came with it.

I held my breath, willing myself over, but my body didn't obey.

Soon I heard the miraculous sound of Duo's boots hitting the pavement nearby. He had a better time with the landing, no doubt.

I felt him push me onto my side, emptying the vomit onto the blacktop. I wheezed, spitting chunks of bile on my exhale.

"Dude you are rusty as fuck." He snickered. I barely had a chance to retort before the soup came up again.

It reeked. Duo patted me on the back, lifting me up with a good hoist on my forearm.

I accepted Duo's blessed help, thanking him with a few spirited "Fuck you."'s

"Fuck you too buddy." He giggled, wiping the bile from my face with his chute silk.

The moment was too intimate for me, and immediately I felt my stomach turn again. Every single emotion I was capable of threatened to bubble to the surface, and for what felt like the millionth time tonight, my tongue tasted bile.

"Let's go you asshole." Duo winked, nodding his head towards the mouth of the alleyway.

I practically hugged the side of the adjacent building, lungs burning and stomach nearly weightless. As we approached the empty sidewalk, I saw an old station wagon waiting; a familiar face behind the wheel.

Duo threw his chute fabric over me, hiding my face. I felt him lead me out to the street and thrust me into the back seat of the wagon.

"Well hello there you salty bastard." I heard Trowa say. I laid there against the hard back seat, invoking my best corpse pose.

"Stay down for a sec Hee-man, I'll let you know when you can sit up." I felt Duo throw another weight of fabric on me, and the warmth it brought gave me a sense of comfort I hadn't felt in a while.

I heard Trowa click the vehicle into gear, and we jolted forward, the old engine roaring back to life from it's gravelly idle.

I was definitely free now.

My eyelids drew heavy, and coupled with the new heat from the fabric around me, I felt myself drift into a dreamless sleep.

 **A/N.** HOLY CRAP It has been way too long since my last update. I am so sorry! I am also sorry that this chapter is shorter than I had hoped. I mentioned this in tonight's update of Dossier, but life took precedent. I am hoping to get to updating more regularly now, and I promise I will make the effort. These stories are so dear to me and I can't leave them unfinished, not when both are on the precipice of the real action ;) Thanks to those that reviewed me, honestly your reviews (both negative AND positive) gave me the motivation and called me back to writing.

Thanks again, for your continued support.

~murshmallow


	11. Chapter 10

**Previously in MOUNTEBANK**

I heard Trowa click the vehicle into gear, and we jolted forward, the old engine roaring back to life from it's gravelly idle.

I was definitely free now.

My eyelids grew heavy, and coupled with the new heat from the fabric around me, I felt myself drift into a dreamless sleep.

...

I was jarred awake by what I could only assume was an encounter with a patch of rough road. After the first impact, I removed the blanket from my face, taking in my surroundings in the event I needed something to latch on to.

"Son of bitch... that one was rough." I heard Duo hiss from the front seat.

As I carefully sat myself up, I caught Trowa's gaze in the rear view mirror.

"My apologies Heero, these potholes are killer." His voice, although even in pitch, betrayed a bit of amusement on his part. His trademark poker face had seemed to skew.

Tall, pale birch trees flew by as we made our way down the road at speeds most cars couldn't handle. Chilly air made for a slight frost that clung to the outside of our windows, the sky a pale blue bathed in the buttery light of dawn.

"No worries... I know they're meant for Duo anyway." I muttered, poking fun at his expense and trying my best to ignore my aching lower back.

I had expected Duo to turn in his seat and glare at me, but instead, he greeted me with an unfamiliar expression.

"When was the last time you ate solid food big guy? Looking like a kid over here."

I couldn't detect an ounce of sarcasm in the question, and sank back into my seat, unwilling to fire back. Duo was expressing his concern over my appearance. I had felt like I had lost a bit of weight, but I supposed his comment made it true.

I put forth my strongest stone wall of a glare, which seemed to satisfy him for the moment.

All too quickly I felt the strength seep from the muscles in my back, and laid back in my seat as if gravity itself willed me there.

I couldn't fight the grunt that escaped me when I landed.

"We are almost at our destination."

A few more miles and potholes later, and I felt the car lurch into a sharp right turn. The crisp bite of gravel kicked up at the undercarriage of the vehicle as we drove down a remote dirt road.

I had finally summoned the strength to sit upright in my seat, confident that I no longer needed to cower beneath a blanket. The new position jostled my stomach, allowing for the occasional gurgle to spring forth from the hollowness that replaced my insides. I was starving.

"Think you could stomach some eggs and bacon?" Duo chided from the front seat, no doubt trying to ease the awkward silence that followed the hungry cries of my internal organs. I chose not to answer him, and felt myself lean against my window, more content than I had felt in weeks.

We pulled up to a small cabin, at least four miles in from the dirt road. It was gated by some type of electronic mechanism, but Trowa appeared to have the key in the form of a remote he kept in the center console.

I was safe with these two at the wheel. I hadn't felt this in a long time.

Even with the danger that surely kissed our heels, I felt an elusive sense of stability.

That war-time camaraderie you can only feel while you're being raised from the dead by a fellow soldier. This was definitely it.

The food smelled so good I wanted to cry. I'm not sure I had ever cried before, and I sure as hell had never wanted to.

The act of chewing, though, that felt _foreign._

Trowa only allowed me one egg and two slices of thick cut bacon, if only to make sure I didn't get sick.

To be honest, I probably could have eaten half of that plate and would have been content, but I felt immensely greedy after being locked up for God knows how long.

My stomach seized when it realized I was ingesting something solid, and soon I could feel myself trying to heave. I willed my throat steady and placed a free hand over my abdomen as if to comfort it and ease its fear. Food had never been this scary, nor this scarce before. Not since my days as a child soldier.

It probably took me two hours to finish my food. As soon as my plate was clean, I had wished for more.

Duo chose not to eat, instead making sure each window in the safe house was sealed tightly and locked. There weren't many windows, and each were shielded by heavy black-out curtains.

We entered through the front door, and I was surprised to see a secondary metal door slide over it when we made our way into the foyer. Trowa had then reached out to a pin pad to key in a long security code of some kind. I had been too tired and too hungry to attempt and memorize it, although I supposed I could try to remember it if I needed to.

After I ate I was lead to a plus hunter green couch that sat in a living room of sorts. Trowa built a fire in the cast iron stove and soon I felt my limbs grow heavy once more.

Stomach full and skin warm from the fire, I allowed myself the luxury of sleep.

I was jarred awake sometime later.

As my eyes reluctantly opened I saw Duo's worried face above me.

"Heero buddy... you've gotta wake up." He smiled apologetically.

"Sorry Duo... " I said as I sat up. At some point one of them had placed a thick quilt on top of me, and instantly I felt cold as the fabric fell away from my shoulders. "I thought I would just close my eyes for a second and... "

"And two days just flew by... I know. I know you're tired Heero but we really need you to get with it man." He chided through a watery smile.

Two days?

Had I really been asleep that long?

Probably.

"Is he up yet?" Trowa's voice came from an adjacent hallway. Soon I saw Trowa's six foot frame appear in the living room, lower body wrapped in a towel. "Ah good morning Heero!" He smiled, not a trace of emotion. I couldn't read him.

But something felt off.

"What's going on." I willed my body to move, and surprisingly, it did. I sat up straighter and felt my muscles respond. Its amazing what one plate of solid food could do.

"We're gonna need you to check your e-mail buddy. We are expecting something." Duo reached over to a nearby teak-wood coffee table and grabbed a sleek black tablet, placing a finger on the screen and engaging a sensor lock to release.

It was opened to my work e-mail server. I wasn't sure why they were asking me to open my e-mail, but at that moment I would have done anything for them.

I logged in and pulled up my inbox.

I had a hundred unread messages, all sent from my own address, just like e-mails I had received about Relena.

"Where do we start?" I felt myself say, but barely remember forming the words on my own.

...

 **a/n:** I can't believe its been so long since my last update! It's been a wild and rough year. A lot has been going on, and I just wanted to say thanks for sticking with this story. I've been reading your reviews and they always give me such a boost of confidence! Thanks for your continued support. If you're in the mood for lighter fare, head on over to my story Dossier! (That kinda rhymes oh wowww.. ) Okay that story is pretty angsty as well but there's a lot of fluff going on that makes it worthwhile. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the angst.

 **~murshmallow**


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